“We started really optimistic, naturally, but then we made just a couple of small changes, tweaks to the car, and it really put the car on a knife edge,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “I think the wind picked up a little bit as well, so the car was trickier to drive, and it was harder to put laps together.”
Pressed on what he wants from Ferrari’s new challenger, and what might be missing, he continued: “Not one particular thing. You want a car that’s balanced, so at the moment from one corner to the next, the car has a different balance. You want a car that has a similar balance everywhere.
AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from Qualifying in Shanghai as Piastri snatches maiden Grand Prix pole
“As I said, we made the change, and then all of a sudden the high-speed was over-balanced. You just want a car you can rely on; when you attack the corners, you know it’s going to stay with you instead of lock up and go on or snap into oversteer. When it’s unpredictable, then you’ve got no hope.”
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Charles Leclerc was marginally slower than Hamilton in sixth position, as he reflected on a weekend he has so far spent in his new team mate’s shadow.
